1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to casual seating, in general, and to collapsible reclining loungers, patio chairs and cots, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Folding or collapsible chairs in the nature of furniture have been described in such United States Patents as U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,520 (Roher et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,406 (Lee). In a multiple seat arrangement, they are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,928 (Staunton et al). For outdoor use, in camping and watching sports games, chairs of this type have been illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,605 (Chang). When a reclining chair is desired for camping, hiking, fishing, and concert events, a construction of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,068 (Levine) is said to be useful.
While chairs of these types may prove adequate to suit their intended purposes, they have proven deficient when employed at beaches or seashore locations where users prefer low seat heights, typically no more than 6xe2x80x3 to 10xe2x80x3 above ground. While adjustments for multiple reclining positions in these chairs are highly desirable, the need for adjusting the position safely and easily is equally as important. As the reclining chair is oftentimes left unoccupied when open, it is almost as important, if not more so, for the beach chair to have a degree of stability about it, so as to limit its propensity to be blown about by wind gusts, as well as when being sat upon by a user. These various features, however, are not readily available with the type of folding lounge chair arrangements that typify the prior artxe2x80x94whether the folding lounger is used at the beach, at the seashore, or just in one""s backyard.
At the same time, where simply used as a non-reclining patio chair, the acceptability of a folding chair depends in large part upon its strength and reliability of operation. In these two areas, the folding chair of the Lee Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,406) falls somewhat short.
To address these limitations, therefore, I have invented a new and improved recliner lounge and a new and improved patio chair. The lounge chair, described in an Application filed Apr. 18, 2000, entitled xe2x80x9cCollapsible Reclining Beach Chairxe2x80x9d (Ser. No. 09/551,664), now U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,374, incorporates a frame having pairs of crossed front, rear and side legs, with each leg including a pair of bends in opposing directions to allow bringing the seat level of the chair closer to the ground, and with connectors for the legs and a tilt-locking mechanism for stabilizing the chair and positively fixing it at the reclining angle set when opened or foldedxe2x80x94and for collapsing the chair to a compact package when closed.
My second improvement, on the other hand, described in application Ser. No. 09/561,339, filed Apr. 28, 2000, and entitled xe2x80x9cCollapsible Patio Chairxe2x80x9d (now, U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,138), describes a patio chair incorporating a frame having left and right hand rests and pairs of crossed front, rear and side legs, and with connectors for stabilizing the chair when opened and for collapsing the chair to a compact package when closed. With front pad and rear pad connectors, and with rear connectors all being configured with generally perpendicular walls to apertures of which upper and lower ends of both rear legs and one side leg are pivotally connected, the hand rests are automatically folded as the chair is being collapsed, when front connectors employed include a notch within which the upper end of both front crossed legs are arranged to glide in forming the support for the hand rests, and to which an upper end of the other side leg is also pivotally connected.
I have also gone further in this area of casual seating to invent a new and improved collapsible cot, which can easily be carried about, and which is far lighter in weight than conventional cots and hammocks employed at a backyard setting, whose bulky frame typically stays outdoors the whole season, exposed to the elements. Such cot, also automatically folded as the cot is being collapsed, is described in my application Ser. No. 09/593,938, filed Jun. 15, 2000, entitled xe2x80x9cCollapsible Cotxe2x80x9d (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,410).
As will become clear from the following description, the present invention relates to these areas of casual seating, but more particularly, relates to pillows, cooler/utility bags and cup holders employable with any and all of these reclining loungers, patio chairs and cots of my improved designsxe2x80x94with the pillows, cooler/utility bags and cup holders being characterized by themselves being collapsible, so as to be folded when either the lounger, the patio chair, or the cot with which they are used is being collapsed to their individual compact package. As will also be seen, other aspects relate to arm rests and foot rests available with individual ones of these casual seating arrangements.
As will become clear from the following description, the reclining beach chair or lounger of application Ser. No. 09/551,664, U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,374, with which the collapsible pillow, cooler/utility bag and cup holder of the present invention is particularly useful, replaces the straight leg xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d tubing which characterizes standard designs by an xe2x80x9cX xe2x80x9d shape tubing incorporating pairs of bends to allow for bringing the seat level of the chair closer to the ground. By replacing the oftentimes used xe2x80x9cbrake lockxe2x80x9d (for free-hand adjustment in sliding the chair back to the desired incline position) with a xe2x80x9cpositivexe2x80x9d slide lock in which a xe2x80x9csnapxe2x80x9d is secured within a capturing aperture, a true, predetermined locking position results once the recline is set. As will be further described, to increase stability, the reclining lounger is constructed to effectively push forward its center of gravity, as by making the rear legs of the chair longer than the front legs. Where desired, a bar can also be fixed between opposing left and right sides of the chair frame back to further stabilize the chair when extended to an open position. In accordance with its invention, both the chair and the stabilizer bar are easily collapsible into a compact package to facilitate the carrying about and storage of this recliner.
The collapsible patio chair of application Ser. No. 09/561,339, U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,138, on the other hand, consists of a frame including pairs of front crossed legs and rear crossed legs, and two pairs of side crossed legs, with each pair of crossed legs being pivotally connected together where they cross; first and second front pad connectors pivotally connected to lower ends of one of the front crossed legs and one of the side crossed legs, respectively; first and second rear pad connectors pivotally connected to lower ends of one of the rear crossed legs and the other of the side crossed legs, respectively; first and second front connectors pivotally connected to upper ends of the one front crossed leg and the other of the side crossed legs, respectively; first and second rear connectors pivotally connected to upper ends of the rear crossed legs and the one side crossed leg, respectively; a pair of side supports passing through apertures in each of the first and second rear connectors having lower ends fixedly connected to the rear pad connectors; and a fabric liner connected to the first and second front connectors and to upper ends of the pair of side supports.
In accordance with this patio chair invention, to provide strength and reliability of operation beyond that characterizing the patented Lee design, the front connectors include a top surface having a notch therein open at one end and slightly larger than the diameter of the front crossed legs when composed as a tubular configuration, a first wall at an underside thereof defining one side of the notch and to which the upper ends of the front crossed legs are pivotally connected and a second wall at the underside, generally perpendicular to the first wall and combined therewith, to which the upper ends of the other of the side crossed legs are also pivotally connected. In like manner, each of the front and rear connector pads (as well as the rear connectors) include the two generally perpendicular walls for fastening with their respective pivotally connected legsxe2x80x94while the rear connector pads include apertures at the join of the two walls where the side supports are fixed.
The collapsible cot of application Ser. No. 09/593,938, U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,410, furthermore, consists of a frame including two pairs of front crossed legs, two pairs of rear crossed legs, and three pairs of side crossed legs, with each pair of crossed legs being pivotally connected together where they cross. First, second and third front pad connectors are included to pivotally connect to lower ends of the front crossed legs and to individual ones of the side crossed legsxe2x80x94while first, second and third rear pad connectors pivotally connect to lower ends of the rear crossed legs and to individual ones of others of the side crossed legs. First, second and third front connectors pivotally connect to upper ends of the front crossed legs and to individual ones of the side crossed legs, while first, second and third rear connectors pivotally connect to upper ends of the rear crossed legs and to individual ones of others of the side crossed legs. A fabric liner is included connected to two of the front connectors and to two of the rear connectorsxe2x80x94and, in completing a preferred construction, a pair of side extenders are pivotally coupled to one of the front crossed legs and to one of the rear crossed legs, where they are joined with the fabric liner for a user to rest upon.
In accordance with this collapsible cot invention, to provide strength and reliability of operation, the front connectors where the two side extenders couple include a top surface having a notch therein open at one end and slightly larger than the diameter of the crossed legs when composed as a tubular configuration, a first wall at an underside thereof defining one side of the notch and to which the upper ends of the crossed legs are connected, along with a second wall at the underside, generally perpendicular to the first wall and combined therewith, to which the upper ends of the others of the crossed legs are also pivotally connected. In like manner, each of the remaining pad connectors include the two generally perpendicular walls for fastening with their respective pivotally connected legs.
In one embodiment of the collapsible cot invention, the side extenders are each pivotally coupled to their associated front crossed leg and to their rear crossed leg at a point below the connector which joins them, whereas in a second embodiment, the sides extenders are pivotally coupled at a point above the connectors. In this first embodiment, various taps, fasteners, and overlying rings are employed to align the crossed legs and extenders together, and to secure them in position; in the second embodiment, hinges are employed to achieve this comparable result.
As will become clear from the following description, the pillow, cooler/utility-bag and cupholder of the present invention cooperates with each of these recliner loungers, patio chairs and cots so as to be usable and collapsible, and to fold with each of them as they are each being collapsed to their respective compact package. When enlarged with the arm rest and/or foot rest for the recliner lounger, a particularly attractive type of casual seating can be had.